What is a Nation? How old is it as a concept? And is it appropriate to call the Ancient Greeks or Egyptians their own specific nations?

I got into a debate with someone, and they wrote arguing that nations are the oldest way people have identified themselves, while I was arguing that it's a more recent invention. This then got me thinking about people like the ancient Egyptians.

2 Answers 2019-06-10

The ancient history of kink.

Fetish and kink fascinate me endlessly, and while there is a vast ocean of books and knowledge out there about kink from this century, I'm now more interested in the ancient history of kink. I'm talking the 17th century and backwards. If you know of any books about this I'd be so grateful if you gave me the title.

The human psyche is as intricate as it is crafty, and I'm sure kink has played a part of history as long as there has been a desire for sexual relationships. How did ancient civilizations or even more "modern" societies deal with this phenomenon? I assume most of our sexual history is blanketed by strict religion and societal rules and norms but has this always been the case? Has there ever been a place in time where sexuality and then kink didn't have to stay secret?

Has fetish/kink essentially been divided by class until later times? I assume aristocracy in all parts of the world would have more resources and time to explore themselves and others, plus have an easier time dodging the religious rules of the common folk?

Another question: (and forgive me if this is obvious or stupid) have kinks and fetishes closely followed societal trends and taboos throughout history? As an example, would foot/ankle worship be statistically more significant in an era where showing some ankle would be seen as scandalous? Is there any written evidence of fetishes that are now lost to time?

Thank you for your time!

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Does anyone have scholarship over the Historical King of Edessa, Izates Bar Monobaz who is theorized to be the Historical Jesus?

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1 Answers 2019-06-10

How did the sword become a universal weapon?

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1 Answers 2019-06-10

Alaric's Sacking of Rome 410 AD

If Alaric wanted a land for his people, why didn't he just continue to occupy Rome after capturing it and make it a Visigoth city? It was no longer the capital so would Honorius have really been desperate to seize it back? Why did they journey to Western Spain (a trip that would eventually kill Alaric before he got there)? Also, with the lack of stability after Stilicho's death, couldn't Alaric have been able to proclaim himself Emperor or at least removed Roman political powers?

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Collapse of the Tatars

I’m aware that the Tatars were remnants of Genghis Khan’s Mongol Empire and that they spent decades preying on the Russian Principalities but how did they all die? Because I feel like they did not last for that long. Did Russia conquer them all? Were they destroyed by rebels? Did something else I’m not aware of happen to them? What was their fates?

2 Answers 2019-06-10

How where the German Slavs (Polabian Slavs) treated during the persecution of undesirable minorities during Hitler's reign in Germany? Where they treated as German citizens expected to fight, or like undesirables and exempt from service?

I recently found out about Polabian Slavs and was curious about whether they were treated more similarly to the citizens of Bohemia and Moravia or German citizens? Thank You

1 Answers 2019-06-10

(Question) Japanese Masks

During World War II did the Japanese at all use Oni/Hannya/Kitsunne/etc Masks? Even if it’s one documented person?

1 Answers 2019-06-10

What the Vikings, Scandinavians and the Danelaw did to/for the English?

I was having a discussion about Early Middle Ages Britain and someone asked me what the Vikings did for England and I was left without a satisfying answer. My first reaction was to suggest that if it wasn't for their invasion and settlement there wouldn't have been a unified nation of the English.

Is this statement true? Would there have eventually been an England without Vikings and Norse settlers?

What other lasting impacts have they left on England? Is the prominence of York due to them (my understanding is that Eoferwich was not a major city prior to the Danelaw), cultural importance?

2 Answers 2019-06-10

Left handed people in a shield wall

As the title said, I was wondering how the left handed people fare in ancient/medieval battle. As people was mostly fight in shield wall formation, how does a left handed man fit in with the rest of right handed men? I imagine it would be quite inconvenient for both him and the men next to him

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Why was the reason behind the Roman law banning burial inside city walls?

I heard this law mentioned in an episode of the television show "Time Team."

They said that the oldest rule in ancient Rome was that "people could only be buried outside city walls." I can't find any info about this online. Is this true? Why was this?

1 Answers 2019-06-10

When did Christianity split into Catholicism?

During the medieval era, we often refer European as Christians but they follow the Pope and his words. When did christianity and Catholicism start to become two different religions?

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Book about John Wesley Powell

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1 Answers 2019-06-10

How much history is the English speaking world ‘missing out’ on?

I have an interest in Japanese Sengoku era history, but after researching online it has become clear that much of the period’s documented history has yet to be translated into English. I wonder how much other parts of human history are affected by this phenomenon. Can any historians inform me about the extent of this problem, and what is being done to broaden our historical horizons so to speak?

5 Answers 2019-06-10

Did Nazi Germany make any pretense of being democratic or were they openly a one party state?

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1 Answers 2019-06-10

What was the payment method in late-19th century Victorian England, specifically for domestic servants?

Title. Did employers use cheques, actual physical currency, or some other form? Did this vary at all between the upper and middle classes?

Somewhat related question if anyone's inclined: how often were domestic servants usually paid?

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Where did the Nazis get their money to build their army pre-war?

Ugh, bear with me here. My grandma has a friend that is a crazy conspiracy theorist. My grandma asks me the same questions her friend's conspiracies answer, so I'd like some nuanced help with this one.

Off the top of my head I mentioned the German economy had 15 years to recover from WW1 so they actually had money, and such money would have been reinvested in war bonds/other agreements since a lot of Nazis eventually got rich fulfilling military contracts with slave labour.

Grandma's friend believes in some crazy anti American nonsense. Any more info on where the early Nazi cash came from would be much appreciated.

1 Answers 2019-06-10

What were depreciation lands and how/why were they given to revolutionary US soldiers?

Recently heard a little bit about this in a speech at my brother's high school graduation. Apparently my home town was first settled/colonized/farmed when it was given to revolutionary soldiers because it was part of something called "depreciation lands." From what I can see online it was a specific tract of land in Pennsylvania, but I couldn't really work out any details.

1 Answers 2019-06-10

Was David Irving considered reliable in 1982?

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1 Answers 2019-06-10

What is the consensus on Reclaiming History?

I'm interested in the JFK assassination, though I tend towards the more conspiratorial side (Mark Lane, etc)

I want to tackle Reclaiming History one of these days, but it's a daunting piece of work. How is it regarded among historians? Are there any critiques of it? Is it worth reading? Thanks

2 Answers 2019-06-10

Where did the idea to throw women/virgins into a volcano originate from and why did it become such a stereotype?

Hey there, I had been thinking a long while on the stuff we are fed as children in the form of entertainment. In a lot of needs growing up, there was often a person needing to be saved when dealing with "barbarian people's" where the heros had to save a girl from being thrown into an active volcano

It got me curious to where this idea originated at all, and if it is in any way historically accurate.

If it has, where? What lead it to be such a fad for story telling?

1 Answers 2019-06-09

Had the Japanese ever developed double edged swords? and if so, why did the single edged sword stuck around?

I'm only saying swords because I'm not too sure when it's applicable to say "Katana" "Tachi" among other terms.

1 Answers 2019-06-09

Neanderthals in pictures and videos are usually illustrated as having light skin, how do we know for a fact that that was the case? From what I know all that remains of them are bones.

1 Answers 2019-06-09

What was life like going to the Ivy League Colleges back during 1800s? Did people get the ‘honor’ they get today? Do they obtain a better job than other graduates?

1 Answers 2019-06-09

Was Catalonia a republic in the past as they want to “become again”?

1 Answers 2019-06-09

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